Earlier this year, ESPN announced it was acquiring NFL media properties, including NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL Fantasy Football, from the league.
With the merger finalized, questions remain about the future of NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, whose contract expires in May.
Will ESPN Keep Ian Rapoport Following the NFL Network Merger?
To acquire the aforementioned NFL media properties, ESPN granted the NFL a 10% stake in the company.
ESPN and the NFL also put out a joint statement saying, “With the closing, we will begin integrating NFL employees into ESPN in the months ahead. As we look to the future, NFL fans can look forward to expanded NFL programming, greater access to NFL Network, innovative Fantasy experiences, and unparalleled coverage of America’s most popular sport.”
This means that following the acquisition, Rapoport will be part of ESPN. However, Rapoport’s contract is set to expire in May, following the conclusion of the NFL Draft and ESPN’s acquisition.
He even talked about the possibility of working alongside Adam Schefter, saying, “If we were to work together, I think that would be awesome. I have no idea if it is going to happen. But it would be like The Avengers.”
Despite his contract expiring, ESPN wants to retain one of the biggest NFL insiders in the business.
“ESPN officially took over NFL Network this week as part of a series of agreements in which the league took a 10 percent stake in ESPN,” The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote. “ESPN views NFL Network similarly to the SEC Network, and ESPN is not looking to make major changes in how it is run, evidenced by NFL Network’s executive producer, Charlie Yook, continuing in his position. Yook will now report to ESPN executive vice president Mike McQuade.”
“ESPN is interested in retaining NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, whose contract is up at the end of the month, according to the same sources,” Marchand added. “ESPN will keep the NFL Network’s Draft presentation, led by Rich Eisen, the same for this April.”
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Rapoport is one of the best in the industry, and the chance for him and Schefter to work alongside each other would be like the Joe Montana-Jerry Rice equivalent of sports journalism.
Rapoport has been the NFL Network’s lead insider since July 2013, previously serving as a Dallas-based field reporter who covered a series of league-wide issues. After graduating from Columbia University, he worked at the Boston Herald, the Birmingham News, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, and The Journal News.